Citroën C3 Aircross long-term test: report 2

The Car Citroën C3 Aircross Hybrid 145hp automatic Run by: Tom Goodban, videographer

Why it’s here To see if Citroën's smallest SUV can be a videographers workhorse, combining practicality with efficiency

Needs to Ferry camera kit and crew to filming locations around the country whilst being efficient

Mileage 2532 List price £26,930 Price as tested £27,970 Official economy 53.3mpg Test economy 45.6mpg

7 May 2026 – Infotainment system says no

Taking long trips around the country comes with the territory of being an automotive videographer. I spend many hours driving to and from shoots, pounding up and down the country’s motorway network – it can get very samey and enough to drive even the most passionate of drivers to boredom. 

After long days of shooting, the infotainment system in my Citroen C3 Aircross should provide me with the tools to decompress and enjoy my journey home.   

As standard, the C3 Aircross comes with a 10.25in touchscreen infotainment system that has a limited menu, featuring a DAB radio, the ability to connect my phone via Bluetooth and a navigation system that is easy to use. However, I tend to use Google Maps for all of my navigation needs because it can do clever things like warn me about upcoming speed traps, and allow me to see traffic incidents in real time. 

Thankfully both the Plus and Max trims of the C3 Aircross come with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto as standard. That means I can get into my car and my phone automatically connects, saving me any time spent faffing with wires, and quickly giving me my favourite audiobook and map apps all in one handy place. There are also USB ports available for my passengers to charge their phones if needed.

Things aren’t perfect, though. I recently discovered that if you do a quick pit stop and switch the car off, let’s say to refuel at the petrol station, jump out for a couple of minutes and then restart the car, CarPlay sometimes seems to freeze and stop responding no matter how many times I frustratedly prod at the icon on the C3's touchscreen.

Even after completely disconnecting the phone from the car's system and re-linking via bluetooth the same problem arises. Obviously, this is quite the problem for someone who relies on Google Maps for traffic updates, and recently resulted in standstill traffic adding a decent chunk of time to my drive home. 

So, when it works, the C3 Aircross’s wireless smartphone mirroring makes the infotainment system easy to use, and it happily fits the bill when it comes to my motorway entertainment needs. It’s a shame about the consistent freezing issue – hopefully that’s something that can be sorted in a future update. Of course, I'm aware that this might not be the C3's fault and rather down to Apple, but it is frustrating nonetheless.

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